Training Tip: Weathering winter
It’s officially winter now, with a Dec. 21 solstice verifying it and for many of us, frosty mornings, scarce daylight, and a feebly low sun angle rubbing it in.
If you haven’t flown under “winter rules” before, take them seriously because they are safety-based guidelines. If it’s not your first cold season on the flight line, recall the lessons you learned about flying techniques and creature comforts last year like that simple, sensible tip about keeping a knit hat in your coat pocket or flight bag.
If your trainer lives outside on a tiedown line or isn’t plugged into a heating system inside, preheating the aircraft engine can get you airborne quickly and avoid start-up difficulties. Call ahead to give the line techs time to show up, and once they roll the heater away, start up so they don’t have to come back.
Don’t be foolish about frost. Eliminate it before flying. It only takes a little bit to turn lifting surfaces into unpredictable airfoils. Did you know that a hangared airplane, once dragged out into the open, could frost up under some conditions? Keep watch as you preflight.
Taxiing in snow, be aware of the risk of a frozen brake. Use brakes sparingly; taxiing at a proper (slow) speed helps minimize this risk.
If it’s been weeks since you visited that narrow tree-lined grass strip to practice soft-field landings and takeoffs, you don’t have to wait until your next visit to try again. A long, paved runway may contain patches of packed snow or ice that you wouldn’t want to roll into just before rotation or after landing. Use the recommended soft/rough-field technique instead to keep operations smooth.
Suppose you are flying along under an overcast with good visibility and suddenly it’s snowing. Does that idea make you worry?Remember that aircraft icing typically results from freezing rain, or from supercooled but unfrozen water striking an aircraft and freezing on contact. If the outside air temperature is below freezing and there’s snow out there, airframe icing is unlikely.
However, if the snow has taken you by surprise, put the pitot heat on (if so equipped) and act promptly to update your weather information. By all means avoid flight into less-than-VFR weather conditions.
Dan Namowitz
